How to become a profitable Amazon seller

One of the biggest advantages you have as an internet entrepreneur starting out today is that you don’t have to figure everything out for yourself. As far as how to market your products, there are a lot of examples of profitable online businesses to follow.

Going hand in hand with that, there are already ‘platforms’ you can leverage to make your business start up quick and easy, no need to create your own website, online store, or e-commerce website. And, in fact, these third party services could form the basis for your venture in the long term. Probably the most powerful today is Amazon. Over years this one-time bookseller has become huge. It’s a dominant online retailer, selling everything from toilet paper to tennis shoes.

It is a player in the streaming movies and TV shows industry, even producing its own shows. It sells hardware like the Kindle Fire tablet. It even has bricks-and-mortar retail stores now. And, not to mention, it took over grocery store chain Whole Foods. That all points to a strong and innovative company. And while that certainly is positive, it’s not why you, as a solo Internet entrepreneur, should be interested in Amazon.

One of the little-known (at least by the mainstream) parts of Amazon’s business is that it allows people to sell products on its site, which means you can take advantage of this brand name’s tremendous reach and influence. They’ve been offering this opportunity in ‘third party selling’ since 2000.

If you go this route, you’ll be in good company. About 50 percent of sales on Amazon are made through third party sellers. It’s a lucrative opportunity, third party sales account for millions in sales each year. You could take a slice of that pie and make your own five or six figure income as an Amazon Seller.

The big advantages to being an Amazon Seller

A. You can leverage the traffic that comes to Amazon, which is 150 million people per month in just the United States. These are folks ready to buy. Not everybody will be in the market for your product, of course. But for those who visit the site and then search for products in your niche… you’re in prime position.

B. You don’t have to worry about setting up an online shopping website. You just fit your products into Amazon’s system and they are visible to anyone who visits the site.

C. Amazon is a trusted brand. One of the biggest hurdles facing any new internet entrepreneur is getting prospects to trust them enough to actually buy something. When you operate under the Amazon umbrella, there’s already a built-in level of trust.

Making Your Amazon Seller Business the Most Profitable It Can Be

A. Be a proactive marketer

First and foremost, you can’t simply list your products on Amazon and then hope for enough people to stumble across them. You must be marketing your business on social media, on your blog, using forum marketing, sending emails to your list… you have to get the word out about your business and your products.

B. Pick the right niche

When running a business on Amazon, you have to sell products that people are actually interested in. For this, it’s important to keep in touch with trends through social media, what’s in the news, and other sources. There are some fads that you might be able to make a quick profit off of, take fidget spinners, for instance. But for long-term financial success, you’ll want to focus on products in markets that are always strong, like weight loss, natural health, self-development, yoga, consumer electronics, baby items, and others.

C. Be competitive and know your competition

It always pays to see what others are doing in your niche. See how they’re pricing their products. What type of marketing they’re using. What specific products, especially new products, they’re offering. Even if your Amazon store is doing amazing… it’s no guarantee it’ll stay that way. You can’t stagnate. Always be evolving with the market to stay profitable.

D. Maximize profits

You might start with just one product on Amazon. But if you want to really make some money, you’re going to have to expand to sell a whole range of items. Again, you have to closely look at the market to see what’s selling well… and then jump on the bandwagon.